Sydney Pharmacy inaugural student hospital pharmacy conference
The Sydney Faculty of Pharmacy recently held the inaugural Hospital Pharmacy Student conference for final-year Master of Pharmacy students at Concord Hospital in Sydney. The conference was designed for students to expand their practical experience of working in hospitals as a pharmacist with important insights into how the health system works.
The conference included an overview of the role of a hospital pharmacist and a tour of Concord Hospital. The 36 final-year students who attended the conference participated in interactive sessions related to the complexity of medication management, medication safety, chart reviews, Antimicrobial Stewardship and medication reconciliation in the hospital. The conference allowed students to participate in “Grand Rounds” of the hospital led by the Pharmacy Department centering on recent medication incidents and medicines safety.
The attendees learned from clinical case study presentations and interactive workshops and engaged in practicing clinical scenarios. As part of the conference attendees were split into small groups and guided by Pharmacy Department staff were able to have an immersion hospital pharmacy experience on different wards and area of practice within the hospital. This provided students a first-hand account of the role of the hospital pharmacy and how medicines are managed with the health system.
A highlight of the two-day conference was the opportunity to visit the simulation laboratory in the Concord Centre for Medical Education. In the clinical simulations, students were actively involved in scenarios that could occur in a pharmacy setting—managing an epileptic seizure, using an adrenaline auto-injector in the setting of anaphylaxis and training in resuscitation and the use of a defibrillator.
The conference was a big success and the feedback from students was very positive, in particular the practical experience working with “Simon the Sim Man” in the simulation lab and participating in hospital rounds on the wards were the highlights.
“The clinical simulation was interesting and helpful. I believe it will become beneficial in many ways. Further, walking around the wards was very beneficial as well as it allowed us to have a greater insight of what a pharmacist does in the hospital pharmacy.” (Anonymous student feedback)
Professor Andrew McLachlan, Professor of Pharmacy (Aged Care) based at Concord Hospital, convener of the conference, said, “This conference was a fantastic way to provide our students with a unique insight into and experience of hospital pharmacy. It provided students with a detailed view of how a hospital pharmacist interacts with patients on a daily basis but also importantly, how that role interacts with the broader health system.”
The faculty generously thanks Rosemary Burke, Director of Pharmacy at Concord, and her staff in the Pharmacy Department for their generous support and active participation in the inaugural pharmacy student conference. Planning is underway for the Hospital Pharmacy Student conference in 2015!
Studying Pharmacy in Australia
Please note that the Australian Master of Pharmacy program format is not currently recognized in Canada by the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC). The PEBC prefers that students complete an Australian Bachelor of Pharmacy program instead, as this course format is recognized and can be assessed by the PEBC. Find out more about Bachelor of Pharmacy programs in Australia!
For more information about the pharmacy accreditation process in Canada, please contact OzTREKK’s Australian Pharmacy Schools Admissions Officer Rachel Brady.
Bachelor of Pharmacy Program at the University of Sydney
The Bachelor of Pharmacy requires four years of full-time study. There are two semesters and one entry period per year. Major topics studied include chemical, physical, pharmaceutical and pharmacological properties of medicines and the application of these in the practice of pharmacy.
Program: Bachelor of Pharmacy
Location: Sydney, New South Wales
Semester intake: February
Duration: 4 years
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